Testimonials

What Residents say about TLC:

TLC Testimonials From HP/AHP’s:

Moving into TLC ten months ago has been a blessing. When I think what’s happening to me with regard
to TLC, three words come to mind; opportunity, change, and responsibility. I’ve learned how to be
responsible, to experience positive change, by following rules, taking direction, and leading by example.
The standards and examples that have come and gone and that are still here showed me how to apply
responsibility and experience progress. I’m blessed to have this opportunity and continue new ones as I
move forward.
-Mathew P. San Miguel Dr., Walnut Creek 1/26/10

Moving into a TLC Sober living Environment is the best choice that I have made for myself. By
becoming a part of Madison House I have been able to amass over 150 days continuous sobriety.
Becoming involved in the program has also taught me a new way of living based on tolerance, love and
care. After living at Madison House for five months I now have the opportunity to give back what was so
freely given to me in my current role as Assistant House parent.
-Henry J. Madison House, Stockton 1/26/09

TLC has taught me a lot of things about sobriety and life. When I first came to TLC, I was welcomed to
the company with open arms. I was taught spiritual growth and lessons learned about others unfortunate
relapses. I was taught something that has helped me deal with hardships in my life, “life is unfair, get
over it”. That has taught me how to deal with hardships in my life in a proper manner. As Assistant
House Parent, I’ve learned many people skills and mange a different way of life. Although the discount
on the fee is nice, being able to help others with their sobriety is the biggest reward of being Assistant
House Parent. I thank TLC for giving me the opportunity to be a part of their purpose of keeping people
sober.
-Daniel K. Archer House, Fremont, CA 1/20/10

A “Safe Haven” away from everyday Alcoholics. TLC has given me my self-esteem and greater personal
stability in my daily life. TLC has given me the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the
disease and to share with others, afflicted by the same, which “we don’t have to deal with alone”. TLC
has given me the opportunity to share my experiences with New or Old. Most of all A WANT and
DESIRE to STAY SOBER. Without TLC, I would still be in and out of this roller coaster of a ride.
-Gerry G. Bonifacio House, Concord, CA 1/26/10

TLC has enriched my life and my sobriety life beyond my expectations. Ever since graduating
from “New Bridge Foundation” in Berkeley California, my growth has continued to flourish. I am able to
live life on life’s terms! I am now giving back to the community that I once disregarded. I now help my
Fellows and they too help me!
-Geoffrey L. Archer House, Fremont, CA 1/25/10

TLC has changed my life. I tried to get clean & sober for years but always failed. I even went to a
30 day program and went home and relapsed. Then I moved in to a TLC Clean & Sober Home for 30
days and 15 years later I still live in a TLC Clean & Sober Home & I have 15 years clean 7 sober. Now
that’s a gift. The people you live with are great; they support your sobriety and are like family. I go on
vacations, have a great time and come home to safe places. What more can you ask for. Thanks for being
here TLC!
-Victor B. Bellevue House, San Mateo, CA

TLC is a safe and clean to come home to. It gave me the opportunity to focus on changing my life. I did
not have to worry about what the house was going to be like. There is consistency, sun-thur house mtgs,
choirs every week, keeping your room clean. These things reminded me to be accountable for myself.
Half the time when I come home from work there is a fellowship here and it is great. Now being an
A.H.P. I guess it feels like I’m 12th stepping sometimes which is great for my sobriety.
-Adam S. Bellevue House, San Mateo, CA 1/25/10

The benefits and opportunities that TLC has provided for me – good or indifferent. What I benefit when I
came to TLC as a client is staying sober and getting a recovery program, something I never did have.

Doing the 90/90, getting a sponsor and staying in the house the first 30 days were good for me because
I needed a foundation and structure. The house meetings are really important to me because in the past
I stuffed my problems, issues, or situations. Having a house full of people to where we have a disease
and we can relate to each other makes me have a compassionate and caring group that understands people
and gives them chances. I have people in my house that are very close to me, took advantage of the TLC
opportunities, are still clean and sober and in contact with me.

Now I have the opportunity to become a House Parent thanks to Julie for asking me. TLC staff and Gerry
for being there for me since day 1.

What has happened while I was in TLC: Having friends, a closer relationship with my family. Getting
a job losing a job. My brother being out there, my brother being in for 2 years. Loving and living life,
thanks to TLC.
-Robert C. Bonifacio House, Concord, CA 1/26/10

TLC has been a blessing to me in so many ways, primarily including an opportunity to strengthen my
recovery simply by living and being around “others” in recovery! In the past I have experienced for too
long to mention that “my solo” existence (e.g. – living alone) always emerges into a tragic and disastrous
episode for me as I seem to simply “implode and/or contract” into one or more relapse, which has been
proven over and over in my life. Thus TLC offers me the tremendous “WE” factor, the experience to live
and thrive with and around others, genuine Social Model Recovery!

TLC has also provided a future and a vocation that serves both my financial needs and utmost my heart,
the latter being the most worthy!
-Lon S. Stockton House, Stockton, CA. 1/26/10

Just over a year ago my life was a standstill. I could not see hope and was ready to admit defeat in
whatever way it came. Fortunately defeat meant a beginning, not the end. While I was at treatment I
began to get overwhelmingly anxious that I did not posses what it takes to stay sober, luckily a counselor
recommended TLC Residential. I am grateful for the decision that I made to move into TLC because the
house gave me a group of friends who were thriving to stay sober and rides to meetings. TLC has made
me accountable to my peers, my meetings, my family and most importantly me. In the 11 months I have
lived in TLC I have gone from unemployed and having financial reliance on my parents to being a full
time staff member of an organization and almost entirely self supporting. TLC has been a great decision
for me and my sobriety.
-George, Clifton House, Walnut Creek, CA 1/26/10

When I was in the last few days of my in house rehab, I was struggling to find a safe place to live when
I got back to the Bay Area, several safe houses fell through and my ex wife was not about to let me stay
with her. My church found TLC. I called and talked to the District Manager and he assured me this was
a great fit for me. As soon as I met with him and the other guys I was at ease. But to tell you the truth
I was not happy I wanted to get out ASAP. My roommate told me; “Let the system work you will feel
better soon”. I did and within 6 months I was asked to be the House Parent. I met the General Manager
and with his guidance and faith in me I have grown as a person and as a House Parent. I owe my sanity
and sobriety to TLC and I will never be able to pay them back, all I can do is give back to TLC and the
men in my house the same guidance and confidence to succeed in life as I received.
-Ken R. Del Medio House, Mountain View, CA 1/26/10

I was moved into TLC Boynton House on May 16, 2009. I had never been in an SLE before, and did not
know what to expect. I was almost immediately overwhelmed with the atmosphere of friendliness and
acceptance. I have loved living here since the day I moved in, although at times being a house parent has
been frustrating. The main thing I feel that TLC has, as a company, that other recovery homes do not
(from what I hear) is that our residents are treated like adults, instead of children. I feel that even when
people leave, they don’t leave here with a bad taste in their mouth. Just recently, my house has had two
residents return after going out and trying to live on their own and not making it, both of them plan to stay
here for at least a year. I don’t think that happens with other recovery homes, because every person I talk
to at other SLE’s tells me they can’t wait to leave. Boynton House has become my home, not just a place
where I live, and I feel that is an important distinction to make. I think that if you talk to the residents
here, many of them would tell you the same thing.
-Mark F. Boynton House, San Jose, CA 1/26/10

I moved to TLC on 8/28/09. I went to rehab for 30 days; the District Manager came to The Camp and
gave me a tour of the TLC homes. Right off the bat I liked TLC, what they were talking about. You
could tell they care about people and they have an open mind. I met Mark that day and we got along
great. So I moved in and Mark was my roommate. I felt at home right away. Mark became HP (House
Parent) a month later and I became third base (House Parent in training) and then the Assistant House
Parent. This house makes everyone want to stay sober. Even when they leave they come back to visit.
When people relapse they come back to TLC because it is a good program and they way it’s set up works.
-David E. Boynton House, San Jose, CA 1/20/10

I came to TLC Boynton on November 23, 2009. Mark brought me into this program by way of
intervention. I was lost and in pain and Mark coordinated an effort with my family and friends to help
me. This was not my first intervention, but it was the first intervention that involved someone from TLC,
and it was my first intervention that worked. My life changed forever. Since that time, I have made
the effort to pass this message on. There is a better way to live then the way we lived before. Some of
us take our sobriety date so seriously it is a life and death decision. To relapse is to start to die again,
and I will protect my sobriety date as if it is life or death. Since coming to TLC I have been appointed
something called a “Third Base”. That means that I am trusted to protect the sobriety dates of others the
way I would my own. This is a sacred trust that I would never violate. There are those who wear sobriety
like a new hat, it is part of my job to make sure they know that sobriety is the most important thing going
at TLC Boynton, and until they make sobriety the most important thing going on in their lives, they have
to stay out of the way of those who hold our values. Many people come and go from TLC Boynton,
but for those who stay, life will never be the same. I live to see people accept a new way of life and
happiness again, and I live to make sure people get the chance here.
-Weston R. Boynton House, San Jose, CA 1/18/10

My name is Christopher Duff and I’m an alcoholic. My journey to continuous sobriety began with a gift
and a promise. The gift was that of desperation. The promise was that I didn’t have to take another drink
if I followed some simple suggestions. I was told to go to AA meetings, get a sponsor, work through the
steps with said sponsor and to not drink in between. It was also suggested that I live with people who
were serious about sobriety and in changing their lives for the better. It was important that I be held
accountable for my actions and responsible as well as of service to others from the beginning. I had
spent so many wasted years back sliding after promising starts in ALL my affairs. I began an out-patient
program and the 90/90 meetings required by my sponsor and TLC in May 2006. I have not had the need
to pick up a drink or alter my consciousness since. TLC has provided me at first with a safe haven for
my delicate sobriety and an instant support group. The weekly house meetings allowed me to learn to
trust and share with others in recovery. The honesty required to live with others in recovery has had a
lasting effect on me. I am now a responsible adult and can be counted on by others and by my word. I
will retain, use and cherish the skills I have gained through my work with other sand TLC for the rest of
my life. More than half of my AA community is past and present mates from my now close to four years
of sobriety in TLC. People I actually see and speak with on a regular basis. Friends, if you tend to isolate
as I do, I highly recommend you look into and research sober living. It was not so much a life-saver for
me as it was a life-giver.
-Chris D. 31st Ave House, San Francisco, CA 1/26/10

I am proud to say that TLC has been the cornerstone of my sobriety. I came to TLC 30 days into my
sobriety. I didn’t know how to live sober and my fellow residents and the TLC staff helped me to learn
how to do it. I have been blessed to live at TLC for the almost three years and serve as a House Parent
for almost two years. I can honestly say that I do not think that I could have stayed sober and accountable
to people as well as myself if it wasn’t for TLC. I would recommend to everyone I meet to move into a
TLC house. It was the best decision I have made for my life and sobriety.
-Stephanie F. Clifton House, Walnut Creek, CA 1/26/10

Upon completing a 30-day residential program and at the advice of my counselor, I entered TLC
Residential in April 2002. I recognized the benefits immediately. There was always someone to talk
to about the challenges that were overwhelming me and there was never a shortage of people to go
to meetings with. Most importantly, I felt safe in the house from the people, places and things that
threatened my early sobriety. As my recovery progressed, I was asked to join the team at TLC as
an assistant House Parent and took over managing a house within the next year. The experience has
deepened my commitment to recovery and has taught me the meaning of being of service. Observing
the transformation of a client in early recovery still astonishes me after seven years, yet at times, I am
also challenged in ways that rock me to my core. I have learned that my recovery must come first and
that I need to remain teachable. Today, I am blessed with the support of my family and I have been able
to achieve a formal education, something I never imagined possible. I am tremendously grateful for my
time at TLC and how it has strengthened my recovery.
-Walter R. Ramsell House, San Francisco, CA 1/20/10

Making the decision to come to TLC was one of, if not the best decisions I have ever made for myself.
TLC provided me with not only a home but a family. The standards of TLC were the foundation I needed
to grow not only spiritually but emotionally. They held me accountable which was something I hadn’t
had in my life for a while. I was given the opportunity as a newcomer. TLC & AA have given me my
life back. My relationships with my family have continued to heal. I feel very fortunate that TLC is
there for people like me that want recovery. I don’t know where I would be today if it wasn’t for TLC. I
highly recommend TLC to anyone that truly wants recovery.
-Jennifer C. Ardis House, San Jose, CA 1/26/10

My experience at TLC is exactly what I needed to get my life back. Being new in recovery, it was
beneficial for me to live in a safe environment with people who share and understand the struggles
addiction can have on our lives and the lives of our loved ones. I would recommend TLC Clean and
Sober Homes to those want a fresh start to a better life.
-Sue C. Boynton House, San Jose, CA 1/26/10

The benefits and opportunities I have received from TLC is that I was able to change my life. It has given
me a structure for life that I can use in the outside world to become a normal citizen in the community.
The most important thing that TLC has given me is that I am able to work with people that move into the
house that are suffering like me when I moved into the house. I can show them how I changed my life by
giving them suggestion on what worked for me. Also it introduced me into the AA program which helps
me work the 12 steps to better my life.
-Patrick M. San Miguel House, Walnut Creek, CA 1/26/10

My biggest concern that led to the decision to return to a TLC Clean & Sober Living Home is the fact that
for the last 15 to 20 years I have been plagued with anxiety and panic attacks. A full blown panic attack
will either lead me to pick up a drink to calm me down or will end me up in the emergency room. I have
found that being around people will keep me calm and in check. Just watching a TV show with others
brings a feeling of belonging and serenity. The main reason that I have stayed at Darcy so long is the fact
that I have the nice big deck and backyard in which to play with my plants. Gardening not only gives
me something productive to do, but brings serenity, a feeling of accomplishment and flowers to bring
inside. It also is a deterrent to drinking, as I have invested way too much money in plants to let them die.
Being Assistant House Parent and now House Parent helped tremendously with my problems regarding
confrontations. I am now in a position that makes it impossible for me to avoid confrontations as I have
always done in the past.
-Diana H. Darcy House, San Mateo, CA 1/20/10

I owe my sobriety to TLC for providing me a safe environment that requires me to work the 12 steps of
Alcoholics Anonymous or any other 12 step program, attend at least 3 meetings daily and show up for the
house meetings. That alone has been one of the greatest benefits of TLC offers that gets underestimated
by residents I believe. I have desperately wanted accountability in my life and I didn’t know how easy
it would be to find such a place once I took a simple suggestion from a counselor of moving in sober
living after rehab instead of going back to the slippery environment of my “own” apartment after a dozen
relapses trying to gather 90 days together. Thank you for the TLC support.
-Sean T 31st Ave. House, San Francisco, CA 10/27/10

"This is an incredible place. The experience and the people have proven invaluable to my sobriety. Thanks for letting me be part of TLC."

"The house support group meetings each night have become an important part of my recovery."



"The TLC Standards are maintained and exceeded. The staff does an excellent job."

Hi TLC:

As Walter has let you know, I'm going to be moving out on June 21, 2008. I moved here on July 31, 2004, almost 4 years ago. I had just finished rehab and during that time, my things had been packed up and put in storage. I had no idea in rehab what was going to happen afterward. After I realized (with the help of my counselors at Newbridge) that an SLE was the way to go, I called TLC and was shown the San Francisco houses. I knew the moment that I set foot in the Ramsell Street house that it was where I was going to live. I remember being very very frightened and shell shocked that first day. Walter took me grocery shopping and later, he and one of the other residents took me to "Come and Get it" at 7th and Irving. Slowly I started to learn my way around. Walter offered me the AHP position right before my thirty days in the house was up. I was stunned and not very convinced that I was qualified for the job. But I took it, mostly to ease the financial burden on my parents, who were supporting me at the time.

What I received from TLC and from Walter and the many many residents I have known in my time here is really not something that can adequately articulate with words but I'm going to try. For me, TLC has served as my anchor, my home base, the place I could come home to and feel safe. There have been countless times out there when I have felt triggered, or that the world is just too overwhelming. The knowledge of my home waiting for me has been a saving grace on each of those occasions. At TLC, I had the time and the patience of those surrounding me, to find my path and to begin (very slowly at times) to walk it. It was a friend here at TLC who helped me get my resume together and helped me find the courage to start talking to agencies. It was a friend at TLC who got me my first "paying gig" helping out at some conventions, which helped my confidence immeasurably. It was TLC that taught me that being of service is being present.

Last year I was in Reno in trial for a month where I lived in a casino, surrounded by alcohol and didn't drink. That would not have been possible without everything I'd received from being a part of TLC. In the middle of that trial my grandmother became fatally ill and I had to fly to Houston to be there for her and my family. That would not have been possible without everything I'd received from being a part of TLC. In sobriety I've lost family members, a dearly loved pet, experienced ups and downs, depression, elation, times when my sobriety felt solid, others, not so much. Through all of this, TLC was, as I said above, an anchor.

The next step is now here. I'm moving in (just half a block away) with another sober person who also lived at Ramsell for well over a year. I'm apprehensive about the move but I also know in my heart that it's the right move.

I can't every adequately express my gratitude toward TLC and especially toward Walter for the blessings I've received over the last almost four years, but I hope that you all know that I *am* grateful. Beyond measure.

Love, Lillian



In Appreciation of my Experience with TLC... by Wendy W.

An incomparable time, it came to be,
My living with yours, at TLC.

The Lessons, the Love, the Trials and Wins,
The Stories, the People, their Triumphs and Sins.

The student is teacher, we learn by believing,
We honestly open ourselves to the healing.

We lead by example, we follow what works,
We trade out Failure, let go of the Jerks.

That had us Twisted,
That kept us down, We once were "Those People" they'd run out of Town!

And the light comes on, in our eyes, in our souls,
What held us back no longer controls.

And the teacher is student, we receive so much more,
The gifts of life, increase all the more.

Your mission is right, your mission is tight!
My experience with you gives me unlimited heights.

Thank you for patience, for light and wisdom,
Thank you for All that is yet to come.